One of the explanations for Pnei Hador K’Pnei Hakelev (end of Sotah) is that in the end of days, people will act silly (without Emunah) like dogs. If you beat a dog with a stick, the dog will instinctively attack the stick and not think about the person who is really responsible. So too with us, we will look at whatever problem and forget that Hashem is sending the problem.

Why is that? I was thinking it is because we may think that others have free choice, so it is possible that they can act outside of Hashem’s judgement. A couple of examples:

When Reuven said to throw Yosef in the pit, one of the commentaries said that Reuven was aware that there could have been noxious animals. But Reuven figured if Yosef was really a Tzaddik, then Hashem would protect him from from natural problems, but humans have free choice to harm a person outside Hashem’s wishes.

Another example is when Yosef (disguised as evil viceroy) threatened to enslave just Binyamin. The brothers were willing to be slaves as a fitting punishment for selling Yosef. But they realized that Binyamin being a slave was outside Hashem’s judgement, so they did not accept the viceroy’s command and were willing to fight. You see, at least in their Hava Amina (before Yosef revealed himself), that it is possible that a person can act outside of Hashem’s wishes.

The Sifsei Chayim explains the first example you gave. I don’t have the Seifer on me, and even if I did, I would probably not be able to do justice to his explanation. But basically, he says something to the effect that everything that happens to a person is from Hashem even when it comes about through someone else. However, when something happens through someone else, it is MUCH harder to have bitachon that it is from Hashem. Therefore, it would be harder for Yosef to have bitachon that it is from Hashem if it came about through people. Since he would have less bitachon, he would be zoche to less hashgacha pratis and more likely to come to harm.

The basic idea is that everything is from Hashem, but when it comes about through others, it is more challenging to have bitachon that it is really from Hashem.

You know that in Chad Gadyoh if the the wild cat was incorrect the dog was correct and the stick was incorrect comes out that ch”v Hashem would not correct. They answer the stick was correct because the dog was not suppose to mix in.

Do people really expound seriously on the literal meaning of Chad Gadya,
which is not held by anyone to be something that actually happened?
(Also, the chain isn’t necessarily explainable in terms of wrong or right.)